Sunrise
by simply woven
Summary: Post episode one-shot for 'A House Divided'. Kerry and Henry have embarked on a new chapter in their life and Kerry muses about what she's leaving in Chicago and ponders whether or not she made the right decision.


Post 'A House Divided' with some 'Breach of Trust'

Disclaimer: Don't own it

Spoilers: 'A House Divided' and back

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Kerry sat on the eerily silent plane, Henry asleep in her arms; the first half hour of the flight had proven to be quite the traumatic experience for him, and he'd insisted on sitting on her lap instead of his own, 'big boy', seat. Peering out the window, she noted the increasing, orange light as the sun came up. She'd already taken multiple trips to Miami in the past month and a half- the first time was in search of a house, the second was the actual purchase of the house and the third was, by car, to move their furniture- however, the ticket for this journey was one way.

Her unfortunate handicap of not being able to sleep on airplanes left her with three hours- not counting the thirty minutes she spent lulling Henry to sleep- of near silence; their flight had departed at five a.m.- needless to say, many were asleep. Shutting her eyes on the final hour of the flight, Kerry mused about what she was leaving in Chicago: County and all of her friends from work, her few but dear friends outside of County, Sandy's family…

It's not that she'd grown up in Chicago, it wasn't like she was leaving her childhood home, and it certainly wasn't as if Chicago had been heaven on earth, but so much had happened there- all of which made her who she was to date. She'd become a doctor in Chicago. She had burnt and built bridges with many. She'd discovered her sexuality in the Windy City. She had become a mother and had been found by her mother. She'd both met and lost her soul mate via Chicago's emergency services. She'd faced her binding fears. Through the hardship, she'd developed a life she loved in Chicago, and was now primed to leave it.

She thought it both intelligent and dense to make such a radical move- no pun intended. On one hand, Luka had offered her job back, she and her son had made their once unsecure lifestyle sturdy, and there was Courtney; Chicago was comfortable. On the contrary, she'd been fired from a job she'd held in one form or another for what was pushing twelve years, she'd aquired many emotional scars there, and, quite frankly, it was all becoming redundant; Chicago was restricting.

She'd thought this over with herself multiple times since Luka had confronted her in the drug lock up. Weighing her options, she tested her rationalism; _to see this as a new opprotunity or to fight it? _What she thought of as irrationalism won, and she scheduled a meeting with Anspaugh for that night.

**flashback**

_"I'm done, Don. I'm leaving." Her choice of words, taken out of context, made it sound as if she was leaving him romantically; however, she was sure that wasn't one of the things that crossed his mind. He was stunned, in awe, shocked. He asked her what she meant._

"_Donald, I've been offered a job in Miami- on a news station. The ER needed to cut an attending. It works out. So, this is my two weeks' notice," She handed him a folded piece of paper, stood, and readied to leave. He called out, sternly but pleadingly, asking her to wait so they could talk it over, come up with an alternative. Pretending to check her watch, Kerry shook her head, "I'm sorry, I've got to pick up Henry. Goodnight, Don."_

_Standing in the empty elevator, Kerry leaned against the wall, what she'd done finally hitting her. She wasn't shocked or upset; she was smiling; she'd done what she thought of as a good thing. At the ding of the elevator hitting the ground level, Kerry put her coat on as she walked towards the admit desk, hoping not to make scene. As always, she was asked to sign off on a few charts. Then Luka approached her, attempting to apologize. She tried to stop him, but then became obligated to give an explanation- a sober and heartfelt reasoning. She was resigning. She'd been stuck in place since Sandy had died. She was going to Miami with her son. With a hug to Abby and tearful smile to the rest, that was it. _

**end of flashback****  
**

She knew she'd made a large, risky jump in accepting the job in Miami, but she had decided upon purchase of their house to look at it with optimism; it was going to be a good thing. Sure, she'd miss County and Courtney and Chicago and Henry'd miss his family, but it was time to move on- to start a new chapter.

Henry shifted on Kerry's chest, bringing her back from her trance. Looking down at him, she saw that he'd awoken. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Henry adressed his mother,

"Mommy, are we in Mimi"-his pronounciation of Miami-"yet?" Kerry smiled and gently shook her head.

"Not yet, bud, we've got about thirty minutes to go." Henry nodded, shut his eyes, then settled back on Kerry's chest. Rubbing his back, Kerry looked back out the window. The sun was now almost fully in the sky- a new beginning to a new chapter- it seemed suitable.

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It's miraculous; I didn't even (directly) mention her hip! woot!

Hope you enjoyed :)


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